Pointing to race: distinguishing race as a critical conceptual problem in ‘post-racial’ classrooms

Abstract

AbstractThose of us teaching, researching and studying in areas that relate to race equality, anti-racism, cultural diversity or any other variation on the theme are engaged, largely against our wishes, in a dialogue with the ghost of race. We have refuted pseudo-biological notions of race and we adhere to the default position that race is a social construct. However, the deconstruction of race has also left us buckling under the weight of scare quotes, qualifiers and euphemisms. In this ostensibly post-racial context, how can we speak not just of racism or racialisation but of race itself? This paper takes issue with premature post-racial positions and conceptualises race not just as a historical residue but as a central social practice ordered by shifting boundaries, tools and categories. The paper draws upon examples from classroom practice to discuss how race is either identified or evaded as an issue for discussion. It suggests ways in which through an understanding of conceptual ‘pulsation’, race mi...